Edmund Barton

Barton spent years pushing for the federation of Australia's separate colonies, summarising the goal as "a nation for a continent, and a continent for a nation". After Henry Parkes retired, he became the federation movement's leader in New South Wales, serving as a delegate to the constitutional conventions and helping draft the Commonwealth Constitution. He led the referendum campaigns, and in late 1900 was commissioned to form a caretaker government. On 1 January 1901, when federation took effect, his term as prime minister began. The March 1901 election left his Protectionist Party short of a majority, so he governed in alliance with Labor. His government created the Australian Defence Force and the Commonwealth Public Service, introduced women's suffrage nationwide, and passed the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 that anchored the White Australia policy. In 1903 he resigned to become a founding justice of the High Court his government had established, serving there until his death in 1920.